Rabin's widow leads mourners

'Shocked' Arafat won't attend funeral

November 5, 1995
Web posted at: 1:15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT)

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of Israelis, some
crying or praying, formed a line three kilometers (two miles)
long Sunday to file past the coffin of assassinated Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin. His widow, Leah, came with family
members, some of them overcome with emotion. (865K QuickTime movie) Rabin's body
will lie in state outside the Israeli Knesset, or parliament,
until a Monday funeral to be attended by world leaders,
including U.S. President Clinton. (Live CNN coverage of
Rabin's funeral begins Monday at 5 a.m. EST, 1000 GMT).

But Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat,
who shared a Nobel Peace prize with Rabin and expressed shock
at "this awful, terrible crime," will not attend the funeral
for security reasons. "Arafat's attendance at the funeral
needs very complicated preparations," the PLO leader's
spokesman said.

Rabin, 73, was shot and killed by a Jewish law student after
a peace rally in King's Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
Police said Yigal Amir, 25, had links to Jewish extremists
opposed to Rabin's efforts to make peace with Israel's Arab
neighbors. According to police, Amir confessed to the crime,
saying he acted on God's orders and did not regret killing
Rabin. When told by interrogators that Rabin had died, he
said, "I'm satisfied," according to Israel radio.

Three shots were fired as Rabin walked from a stage to his
car. The prime minister was hit twice and a body guard was
wounded in the shoulder by the third bullet, security sources
said. The killer reportedly used a .22 caliber handgun.

Rabin, who fought in Israel's 1948 war for independence, will
be buried with full military honors Monday at the Mount Herzl
national cemetery in Jewish west Jerusalem, where the remains
of Zionist founder Theodor Herzl and former prime ministers
Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir were laid to rest. The site is a
panoramic ground on the edge of the Jerusalem Forest of pine
and cypress trees.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was named acting prime
minister. Police said Amir revealed that he also would have
shot Peres if Rabin and Peres had left the rally together.
Amir had planned twice before to kill Rabin, police said.

Anti-Rabin sentiment among settlers and others opposed to
giving up Israeli-occupied land intensified after the prime
minister agreed to transfer authority to Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip. Implementation of the autonomy
process began in May 1994 and was nearing completion.